WHO says you don’t get sec ond chances in life? Not the folks at the New York International Fringe Festival, who realized that just about anyone who could fled the sweltering city this month, missing most if not all of the fest’s nearly 200 shows.

Enter the second annual FringeNYC Encore Series, reprising an even dozen of the festival’s best-received productions, starting Thursday and running through Sept. 16.

Unlike the chaotic Fringe proper, which uses venues scattered all over downtown, the Encore will be presented in just two theaters: the Soho Playhouse (15 Vandam St.) and the Bleecker Street Theater (45 Bleecker).

The Encore series is appealing for even the most intrepid Fringe patrons, considering the daunting odds against finding the rare gems amid the many forgettable and amateurish entries inevitable in a festival of this scope.

Among the more promising Soho Playhouse performances are the comedy “Bombs in Your Mouth,” which won one of the festival’s “Outstanding Playwriting” awards; “Riding the Bull,” a love story between a rancher and a religiously inclined rodeo clown; and “Piaf: Love Conquers All,” a portrait of the legendary French chanteuse.

For tickets – at $18, a little pricier than they were at the Fringe, but still a bargain in this town – visit FringeNYC-